Meet Dutch Sheets, Another Gingrich Faith Adviser

February 02, 2012 9:29 am ET

Newt Gingrich's campaign announced last week that Dutch Sheets, a popular evangelical preacher, would co-chair the campaign's Faith Leaders Coalition. Like other members of the coalition, Sheets is a divisive and abrasive figure who has said in no uncertain terms that President Obama is a Muslim and that natural disasters and terrorist attacks in the United States are a consequence of turning away from Christianity.

Who
Is Dutch Sheets?

After Endorsing Newt
Gingrich, Dutch Sheets Was Named To Gingrich's Faith Leaders Coalition. From a Newt Gingrich press
release:

Dutch Sheets has endorsed Newt Gingrich for
president, and will be joining the Gingrich Faith Leaders Coalition.

Dutch Sheets is the author of 18 books, including the best seller Intercessory
Prayer. Throughout his 34 years of ministry he has pastored, taught in several
colleges and seminaries, served on the board of directors of numerous
organizations and has become recognized as an international leader on the
subject of prayer.

In a statement, Pastor Sheets explained that his endorsement is for the "most
important election of our lifetimes"

"Newt Gingrich is only one that I can confidently say has the heart,
experience, backbone, Constitutional brilliance, and intellectual strength to
defeat Obama and lead America back to greatness" said Sheets.

"The America we know and love-indeed, the America God and our founding fathers
dreamed of and birthed-cannot survive another 4 years of the current leadership
in Washington." [Newt
Gingrich Press Release, 1/25/12,
via blog.4President.org]

Sheets: Election Of
Obama Means "God Has Now Turned Us Over To Our Enemies. ... We Have A Muslim
President." In
a video uploaded to YouTube.com, Sheets says:

Because I knew, when I saw this
happening, and it finally occurred, it is not just going to bring further
judgment on America. This is a part of the judgment. God has now turned us over to our enemies for a season. But He only
does that— He only disciplines those He loves. He is not finished with
America. He hasn't written us off unlike some people I hear. And we are not going
to lose everything God has done in America. We are going to be on the
forefront, cutting edge, of this great awakening that comes to the world. America
has a role to play in this. We have a
Muslim president. But God is going
to-and maybe he's going to turn to God. We pray for him. Maybe he's going
to turn and become a person God uses in more than just some of the ways that we
appreciate [YouTube.com, 10/31/11]

Sheets: "The Pro-Death, Pro-Homosexual, Pro-Islam,
Humanistic Forces Have Cast Their Net Over Broad Portions Of Our Government." On his website, Sheets writes:

Change is so imperative.
The forces of the antichrist movement in America, who are also against what our
founders envisioned, have been very focused and have made incredible gains in
the past 50 years. Washington D.C. is indicative of those gains and the changes
that are needed. I was there earlier this month for a prayer gathering. The
spiritual atmosphere of the city was noticeable [sic] oppressive and "dark." The pro-death, pro-homosexual, pro-Islam, humanistic forces have cast their net
over broad portions of our government, which they mock God and His word. [DutchSheets.org,
accessed 1/31/12]

Sheets: Terrible Things, Including Terrorism, War, And
Natural Disasters, Will Happen In America Because We've Turned Away From God. From a letter Sheets wrote:

If God
brought corrective but serious judgment to Israel, we are horribly deceived if
we think it will not happen to us. If something doesn't happen to lessen this
judgment-and it can be lessened-we are headed for very difficult times. The
economy is going to be devastated. The stock market will go well below where it
went a few months back-a crash is coming, and soon. More terrorism and violence
will occur in our land, perhaps even war. In my spirit I've seen buildings
crumbling and cities burning. Devastating natural disasters will take place. In
general, hard times will be prevalent. Why is this so? Because we have turned
from God and His ways. Consider the true condition of America. This assessment
is bleak but accurate. [ElijahList.com, 3/17/10]

Sheets: "We're Supposed To Try" To "Take Over Everything And
Rule The Earth Completely For The Lord." From
a sermon Sheets gave, uploaded to YouTube.com by Right Wing Watch:

I'm not at
all implying, as some try to teach, that we're gonna take over everything and
rule the earth completely for the Lord and that He has to wait for that to
happen until He returns. We're not teaching that. But we're supposed to try. It
is our condition. I know there's gonna be sheep— there are gonna be sheep and
goat nations. I'm not— there's no insinuation here that we're going to take over
everything. But our assignment until He comes is to bring His kingdom rule into
the earth so that our region looks like heaven again. [YouTube, 1/12/12]

Dominionists
Believe Christians Should "Rule Earthly Institutions." As The Daily
Beast's Michelle Goldberg writes: "Put simply, Dominionism
means that Christians have a God-given right to rule all earthly
institutions. Originating among some of America's most radical theocrats,
it's long had an influence on religious-right education and political
organizing." [Daily Beast, 8/14/11]